1969 Camaro RS - Double Double

Without question, the ’69 Camaro is one of the most popular muscle cars ever to roll out of Detroit. Predictably, fame brings its naysayers, but our only lament is that ’69 Camaros can appear so similar. We have to be selective in our feature cars to ensure a healthy mix. Rest assured, you won’t see another Camaro like Len and Linda Perham’s ’69 RS anytime soon.

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This is surely one of the rarest ’69 Camaros you’re apt to find. The original yellow-on-yellow is in-your-face obvious, but a double COPO status is farther below the surface. Most readers are familiar with the term COPO Camaro, generally taken to mean one of the L72 427-powered monsters that could be specially ordered via a Central Office Production Order. It was an awesome package with a 425-horse iron 427 and a host of supporting equipment for—most unbelievably—less money than one would spend on a SS396. Much of the reason for the friendly price was that the big rat was sourced from the fullsize/Corvette parts bin. While production numbers aren’t rock-solid, it is thought that around 1,000 were produced, give or take a few hundred. Most famously, Don Yenko took advantage of the COPO system and used it as the basis for his Yenko Super Camaros.

So what’s a double COPO? Well, since this was essentially a fleet ordering program (taxi cabs and cop cars, for example) innumerable offerings were available through the COPO system. What the term means in Camaro-speak is generally the pairing of COPO 9561, the L72 427, with COPO 9737, the Sports Car Conversion package. Yenkos were typically double COPO cars, but it’s rare for a non-Yenko COPO like the Perham’s to get 9737. The Sports Car Conversion package consisted of a 140-mph speedometer, 15x7 wheels with E70-15 tires, and a 13/16-inch front sway bar. While it didn’t turn a big-block ponycar into a road racer, it surely made for improved performance when the straightaway ended.

2/8COPO Camaros with the Rally Sport option are few and far between. As on any ’69 application, the appearance option consisted of the hallmark hidden headlights, multiple RS badges, and unique taillamp/backup-lamp assemblies. It certainly makes this 427-powered beast a looker!

Look into the interior of this ’69 and you’ll likely ask about the lack of said 140-mph speedo. Like most things in life, there are exceptions to the rules. In this case the Perham’s ’69 is equipped with full instrumentation, including a full complement of console-mounted gauges. We’re told that COPO 9737 cars with full instrumentation didn’t get a 140-mph speedo, since this setup included a fuel gauge in the main cluster, whereas full-instrument cars got a clock in that location, a tach immediately to the right, and the fuel gauge in the console. Apparently Chevrolet never developed a main instrument cluster with the 140-mph speedo/clock/tach, but the situation was rarely seen since most COPO cars were built bare-bones Spartan.

Likewise missing in these pictures are the proper 15-inch N.O.S. Goodyears, which the owner understandably doesn’t want to flat-spot when the car is stored. Since we dragged the Camaro out of spring slumber for our photo shoot, we had to make do with the period-looking Polyglas repops the car is stored on. We could do worse!

What we know about the background of this particular ’69 is that it was a Canadian export car and was owned early in life by a fellow who also owned a ’69 ZL1 (incidentally COPO 9560). Mark Schwartz, the lucky guy who oversees the Perham’s sweet collection of vintage iron, explained to us that one of the great things about Canadian export cars is that they’re easily documented. “When a car was exported to Canada, explicit paperwork spelled out all the options so the Canadian government was sure to assess proper taxes. That documentation still exists through GM of Canada and is available for a small fee.” Today, such documents are golden, and for this car also spell out a deluxe interior, a woodgrain steering wheel, a console, and the Rally Sport option, a real rarity on a COPO.

Nobody knows for certain how many RS COPOs were built, but Schwartz explained that if it’s any indication, just two of the ’69 ZL1 cars were Rally Sport optioned. For all the reasons outlined, Schwartz was blown away when he stumbled across the car in the Detroit area while inspecting a ZL1 for one of his customers.

“When I saw this one, I decided I wasn’t going to leave until one of my clients bought it. I called Len right away and told him about the car, and he said to send over some pictures so he could mull it over. I told him that my flight back to California was looming in a few hours, and he should decide within 30 minutes or I’d have to start down my call list. The car was that good! I emailed the pictures, and it didn’t take long for Len to make a decision. He thought the car was tremendous.”

Its restoration had been commissioned by a Detroit-area enthusiast with a penchant for tracking N.O.S. components, greatly helping the cause of returning this 33,000-mile original to former glory. If you think the Daytona Yellow topcoat is bright, take one look at those yellow houndstooth threads—wow! Beneath the standard COPO cowl induction hood sits the stout 427, in this case backed by a beefy close-ratio M22 and 4.10-geared 12-bolt Posi. Schwartz explained that the axle assembly on COPO cars was unique: The housing is a nodular forging, and the ring-and-pinion had a softer heat-treat due to expected dragstrip abuse.

In the end, we think it would be hard to run too many ’69 Camaros with the appeal and uniqueness of the Perham’s gorgeous COPO. A timeless shape, brutal performance, and a fantastic list of options make it a standout muscle car no matter your preferences and go a long way in explaining the popularity of the breed.